Introduction
Climate-induced disasters, such as floods and landslides, have
negative impacts on agricultural sustainability and food security
worldwide. Our aim was to promote awareness of climate change,
evaluate some of its adverse effects, and suggest methods that could
help enhance agricultural production in two areas in the Philippines.
Soil erosion was examined in Bukidnon province and a flood
assessment was conducted in the Metro REINA (Real, Infanta and
General Nakar) area in Northern Quezon. In Bukidnon, spatial dataset
analyses were implemented using GIS and remote-sensing techniques.
The corresponding factor values of each parameter were computed
and encoded into spatial datasets before calculation. The extent of soil
erosion was then classified into different categories. About 37% of the
total land area of Bukidnon suffers from very high to very severe
erosion. Many farms in this area are located on slopes, therefore soil
conservation measures and the use of suitable crops enumerated in a
previous paper authored by Adornado and Yoshida (2008) were
recommended. The effects of flooding in the REINA area were
evaluated by using multi-temporal satellite and elevation data. About
4,600ha, including rice fields, in REINA were covered by more than 39
million m3 of sediments ranging from 0.017 to 1.5m thick. We
recommend basket farming and the use of deep-rooted plants in areas
heavily covered by sediments. Crops that thrive in sandy soil should be
planted in areas with shallow sediment deposits to re-establish farming
in those areas. A better understanding of climate change and its
effects could increase the chances of developing appropriate strategies
to abate the negative impacts of climate change, thereby enhancing
both food security and agricultural sustainability. ( Adornado, H. A.;
Yoshida, M. 2010)
The Philippines consistently ranks in the top five countries most
affected by natural hazards, and in 2019 was affected by more
disasters than any other country. For the period from 2000 to 2019, it
was the fourth most-affected country in terms of climate- and weather-
related disasters. The impacts of climate change in the Philippines are
immense, including changes in rainfall patterns and distribution,
droughts, threats to biodiversity and food security, sea-level rise,
public health risks, and the endangerment of vulnerable groups such
as women and indigenous people. Due to the frequent, and often
extreme, climate related disasters experienced by the Philippines, the
country has developed a strong disaster law framework. There is,
however, still a challenge in implementing disaster risk reduction and
climate change adaptation programmes at the community level. The
Philippines’ national regulatory environment provides an enabling
environment that incentivises integrated approaches downstream, but
this requires technical support for sub-national and community
stakeholders. To effectively reduce disaster and climate risks,
cooperation between communities and the different levels and sectors
of government is needed. As stated in the Sendai Framework,
supporting law and policy reform processes to include ‘local risk
governance’ requires effective engagement with – and support to –
local partners and communities.
In addition to the 2017 World Risk Report, the Philippines is the
third most vulnerable country to climate change. Climate change's
impacts on the Philippines are immense, including annual GDP losses,
changes in rainfall patterns and distribution, droughts, threats to
biodiversity and food security, sea level rise, public health risks, and
endangerment of vulnerable groups such as women and indigenous
people. The latest IPCC Assessment Report concluded that climate
change will create new poor between now and 2100. Poverty breeds
disaster vulnerability, and those who have least in life risk like most.
Based on a study by the Asian Development Bank on the economics of
climate change, the country stands to lose 6% of its GDP annually by
2100 if it disregards climate change risks. This same study found that if
the Philippines invests 0.5% of its GDP by 2020 in climate change
adaptation, it can avert losses of up to 4% of its GDP by 2100—clearly
a short-term investment with a long-term eight-fold gain.
Approximately 1 million hectares of grasslands in the Philippines are
highly vulnerable to climate change in the future. Most grasslands in
the uplands are prone to fires particularly during extended periods of
dryness and lack of rainfall during summer.
BAKGROUND OF THE STUDY
